Listen to audio version

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This Week’s Bible Question:

Regarding “The Terror of the Lord,” as seen in 2nd Corinthians 5:11, could you explain this?

Episode Transcription

[music]

Michael Pearl: Here we are, in the middle of a beautiful day, come to answer your Bible questions. I’m Michael Pearl, No Greater Joy Ministries. We’ve got Jared there behind the camera. He has received some of your questions by email. He’s going to read them to me, and I’m going to see if I can come up with a Bible answer. What is the first one, Jared?

Jared: Regarding “The Terror of the Lord” as seen in 2nd Corinthians 5:11, could you explain this?

Michael: 2nd Corinthians 5:11. By the way, I just taught 2nd Corinthians, and just edited it, about an hour ago I finished it, and so it’s all going to be available on MP3 download, within a week I guess. 2nd Corinthians 5:11. Alright. “Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest unto your conscience.”

The issue here is that Paul is writing to the church at Corinth and telling them that he is, in fact, God’s apostle, and that he has a deep, compassionate desire to stay there with them and minister to them, that he loves them. He wants to make them understand the nature of his ministry, why he is so fervent as an apostle. Paul was beaten five times with a cat‑o’‑nine‑tails, 39 licks each time. Shipwrecked three times, beaten with rods…went through all kinds of suffering.

He says, in verse 8, “We are confident, I say, willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted to him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord…” Toward sinners, the terror of God toward those people that he doesn’t share the Gospel with, the people he’s not able to communicate with, “we persuade men,” we persuade them to be born again, to be saved, to trust in Christ. “But we are made manifest unto God,” that is, God knows clearly our heart, “and I trust also are made manifest in your conscience,” that is, that you know us and understand why we do what we do. “For we commend not ourselves again to you.” Paul had been commending himself to them, saying, “Here are the reasons you should trust me as an apostle.” He said, “I’m not saying this so that you’ll trust me as an apostle.” He says, “But we give you occasion to glory on our behalf.” He said, “We’re giving you some talking points so when the false apostles come in and condemn us, you can say, ‘Look, the apostle Paul has a burning desire to reach people. He knows that God is full of terror toward sinners, and so he’s trying to persuade men to come to Christ.’” That’s what motivates him.

That’s the context of that, and you can get the full version on our 2nd Corinthians download. We didn’t do this to [laughs] peddle our 2nd Corinthians, that was just an accident that developed that way.

Disclaimer

Views expressed in the Comments section are not necessarily the views of No Greater Joy Ministries, and are in no way endorsed by us.

Please be aware that we moderate all incoming comments to ensure no spam, hateful, explicit, or unhelpful content gets posted. This is done to protect our readers and keep our website clean, family-oriented, and safe.

Terms for Inclusion

On-Topic - Please keep your comment relevant to the content of the page on which it is posted. If you have a comment unrelated to this page or wish to send us a private note, you may do so via our General Correspondence form.

Complete - When making a statement, please explain it thoroughly so there is no doubt as to your meaning.

Clean - We will NOT approve "flames", sarcastic or hateful comments, or messages with profanity.

Respectful & Sensible - If you disagree with our views, we encourage you to go ahead and say so, but do it in a logical, sensible, helpful way. State your views in a respectful tone and back up your arguments with facts or real-life examples. If your statements are unfounded or "just because I say so" we are not likely to include them. "I respectfully disagree and here is why" is a solid approach.

We reserve the right to publish or not publish any comments submitted, at our discretion.

Thank you!

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail

2 Responses to What is the Terror of the Lord?

Thank you so very much for your biblical teachings and for encouraging us to dig ourselves deep into the Word of God and not take in blindly everything you and others teach. I have just finished listening the "Body, Soul and Spirit" messages. Oh blessed I have been! Also the message on "Sanctification." Beautifully and simply explained. No wonder why I was so confused! You have clarified it beautifully. Once again, God bless you for your selfless willingness to teach those who have ears to hear.

Sorry, I just noticed I was suppossed to leave my response to the question “What is the Terror of the Lord”. When I listened to Mike’s description of hell in the book of Luke (I think), nothing else came to mind but “THE TERROR OF THE LORD”. So many unsaved people think that by just dying, their suffering will end… not wanting to believe that it is only the beginning of something worse. I have a dear unsaved neighbor who is sick and thinks that death would bring relief to her. I have been reminding her of the importance of seeking the Lord while He can be found. Thanks Mike for your tiredless teaching me.